Steve was standing in the outer office, catching hell from Callahan for manhandling Oscar, when they both heard the bellowing from behind the wooden doors.

"HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN?"

They could hear Russ respond, but they couldn't hear his words. Goldman on the other hand, could probably be heard by the maintenance crew in the basement.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE DONE? MY GOD....HOW AM I GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS? IT ISN'T OUR GOVERNMENT, RUSS, THESE PEOPLE PLAY FOR KEEPS..."

Then there was only silence from behind the door, and Callahan looked concerned. She had seen more than one of Oscar's steady and loyal employees leave his office either in tears, or completely broken. And she was worried about Oscar.

Callahan turned to Steve. "Maybe we should go in there."

"I'm right behind you...."

--------------------

Callahan and Steve entered the office, not prepared for the sight that greeted them. Russ was sitting on the coffee table, his head hanging down in shame. Goldman had his hand on the back of the young man's neck, speaking to him softly, and Steve immediately recognized the compassionate, kind, and caring Oscar Goldman he once knew. As soon as Oscar was aware of the audience, he pat Russ on the shoulder, and whispered something into his ear. The young man nodded and stood, but Steve noticed the profound sadness in the man's eyes.

"I'm sorry I let you down, Oscar."

"Things don't always go our way, Russ, we'll come up with a plan to rectify it. I'm sorry I took my frustration out on you, I shouldn't have."

"There's a lot at stake and you're worried. I understand."

"No matter what happens, no guilt, it wasn't your fault. I know you did your best." Oscar took in a large mouthful of air, and let it out it as he instructed Russ. "I want you to use every resource we have. I don't care what you have to do to find him. Just find him before anybody else does."

"I will, Oscar."

Russ quickly turned and left the room. Oscar closed his eyes in distress and leaned against the back of the couch, holding his aching head. Callahan moved to sit next to him, and picking up the towel with ice, gently held it to his forehead. Oscar winced in pain. Callahan pulled him forward to lean his elbows on his knees, so that he could hold the ice, and she gently began massaging his neck.

Her voice was soft, "You should really have a doctor look at this...."

Steve's voice was filled with sarcasm, "Too bad our house doc is missing in action."

Goldman's guilt-filled eyes darted to Steve, and he sighed in resignation. It was time for the truth, and Oscar knew it was going to hurt both of them.

Steve spoke up, "Callahan, would you excuse us a minute? Oscar and I need to have a little chat."

Callahan ignored the request, continuing to rub a soothing hand on Oscar's neck. Concern covered her face as she leaned in toward her boss.

"Are you going to be all right, Oscar?"

Goldman nodded, and then she looked over at Austin.

"You're not planning on throwing him into any more walls, are you?"

"No, I'm not planning on it."

Peggy stood and looked into Oscar's drawn face. "If you need me, I'm right outside."

Oscar nodded, his voice still tight with pain, "Thank you, Callahan."

She pat him softly on the shoulder, glared slightly at Steve, and left the room, closing the door behind her. Steve stood there quietly, observing the man he'd known for so long. The pieces of the puzzle just didn't fit. Austin could see the sadness in Oscar's eyes, and the guilt in his sagging shoulders; and yet, the man had pushed everyone close to him away in the past several months, behaving as though he didn't care about anyone or anything. Steve sat down in one of the leather chairs across from the couch, and waited. After several long minutes of silence, Oscar finally set the ice down, and looked into Steve's eyes for a moment, then he glanced down into his own large hands as he spoke, discomfited by Steve's scrutiny.

His voice was soft and low, "About a year ago, we began to notice a pattern of classified information moving through the intelligence community at a low level, and given its nature, we knew there was a leak at the OSI. It was very subtle at first, nothing too painful, but gradually that changed. The more we investigated, the more cyclical it became, and we were unable to pinpoint the source. Even though we tightened up our security measures, information was still being passed along at an increasingly alarming rate. Then six months ago, we discovered that the other side was looking for an opportunity to make an overture to either Rudy or myself--."

"--So you tried to make it easy for them, and portray the unhappy public servant...."

Oscar nodded. "Yes. I didn't want them getting near Rudy."

"Which is why you clamped down so hard on him with security."

"That's right. I finally had to tell him the truth about a month ago, because he flat out refused to allow a security team to continue escorting him."

"The two of you decided to make it look like you weren't getting along...."

"Yeah. We publicly argued about the Butterfield project, and waited for one of us to be approached, but it didn't happen."

"So yesterday's little stunt--"

"--Was a play to get them to make a move, yes."

Steve stood in anger. "I can't believe you gambled with Rudy's life like that--"

"--Settle down, pal, you haven't heard all of it." Oscar waited for Steve to sit back down, and then he continued. "The plan was for Rudy to loudly resign, and then disappear. We figured that when they couldn't find him--"

"--They'd come after you."

"Exactly."

"But you don't have him."

Oscar looked away, fighting the sting of guilt. "No. Russ and his team were supposed to pick Rudy up at Bistro Bis in Hotel George, and take him to a safehouse......but Rudy never showed up."

"And we know the NSB doesn't have him, and that there was a struggle at his townhouse. You should have come to me, Oscar. This might not have happened if--"

"--I couldn't, Steve."

"You didn't trust me?"

"I didn't say that."

Steve stood and began pacing. "You could have come to me, Jaime...and several others I can think of for help, instead of shouldering this burden by yourself."

Oscar sighed heavily. "I was operating on direct orders from the Secretary, Steve, my hands were tied. Until I spoke to Rudy, the only person who knew was Russ, although I suspicion Callahan knew something was up, she always does...."

Steve could hear the the exhaustion in Goldman's voice, and felt a twinge of guilt. He sat on the coffee table in front of his old friend, leaning close.

"What we have to do now, Oscar, is come up with a plan to find Rudy before Hansen does."

Oscar looked pale. "I shudder to think what the people who have him will do to him if he refuses to give them what they want...."

Steve gently pat Oscar's shoulder. "I should have given you the benefit of the doubt."

Oscar smiled wanly at him. "I wasn't exactly helpful, pal. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about it."

"Come on......"

"Where are we going?"

"You and I probably know Rudy better than anyone else, and my guess is that we might find something at his townhouse that others may have missed."

Oscar set the towel of ice down on the bar, grabbed his jacket, and followed Steve out of the office. He only hoped they could get to Rudy before anything happened to him.